A P O C A L Y P S E
by Kittysprite
Summary: When the Clans of the valley end its wars and peace finally settles in, Thunderpaw lives a sheltered, comfortable life in NightClan. But when everything she's ever known, her Clan, friends, family, even her love is threatened by some other-worldly force, can she save her Clan from the new threat: the undead?


Thunderpaw watched attentively as she sat at the edge of the training grounds. She caught a glimpse of her mentor's dull brown coat as Deerpelt straightened up. Keeping her yellow-green eyes at half-mast and trained on her mentor, Thunderpaw slinked forward, her paw-steps as light as air.

Rounding a bush, she got a good view of her mentor's opponent. His auburn-calico coat was a blur and she observed silently as he launched himself at Deerpelt again, his form a mere blur of white, brown, and black. Wasp-paw snarled and pounced.

Letting out a low growl, Thunderpaw warned the two of her presence. Deerpelt turned a little too late and was met with a flurry of sheathed paw-jabs and a lightning-fast blur of dark chocolate and white.

Side by side, Thunderpaw and Wasp-paw met the silver tabby blow for blow. "'Bout time you showed up," Wasp-paw drawled out of the corner of his mouth. Thunderpaw smirked, lashing out a front paw. Deerpelt dodged effortlessly, but her brow was furrowed in concentration.

"Mm, I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not." Thunderpaw mused, a challenging glint in her eyes. Wasp-paw chuckled.

"That's what I thought."

Deerpelt narrowed her eyes and launched herself up, catching Thunderpaw by surprise. The apprentice yelped and collided with the ground painfully. Deerpelt glared down at her apprentice, her night-blue eyes fierce and her paws fastened rather tightly on the dark brown apprentice's shoulders.

"Next time, focus on the battle and not on running that mouth of yours." She hissed, her tail flicking irritably. Thunderpaw schooled her expression into one of a chastised kit. Her brow furrowed and turned up, and her eyes widened, shimmering with false tears.

"S-sorry, Deerpelt," she mumbled. Although the façade of hers fooled no one, nobody liked scolding someone who looked on the verge of tears. Her mentor sighed before relinquishing her vice grip and backing off. Thunderpaw scrambled to her paws, shaking the sand from her pelt.

Wasp-paw looked on, a smirk ever gracing his features. As the trio turned to return to camp, he quickened his pace so that he fell in alongside her and bumped his shoulder against hers. "Nice one," he commented, a dark undertone of amusement lacing is voice.

Thunderpaw smirked. "I do try," she countered with mock modesty. The two shared a laugh, causing Deerpelt to look back at them, rolling her midnight eyes good-humouredly.

"Come on, you two, I can hear Somberstar calling a meeting. We'd better be present."

"Yes ma'am!" they both chorused in unison. Deerpelt chuckled and plunged into the camp entrance. Without hesitation, Wasp-paw and Thunderpaw burrowed in after her.

Sunlight lit the camp clearing, illuminating the already gathered group of cats, their array of colors glinting in the sun. Deerpelt headed straight for the senior warriors while Wasp-paw separated from her to join his brother, Bumblepaw. _The bee brothers,_ Thunderpaw mused amusedly.

As Somberstar began, she glanced around before spotting a familiar golden pelt. Her best friend, Sunpaw. Hurriedly, she padded in her direction and sat down a paw-length away. Sunpaw glanced at the dark apprentice from the corner of her sea-green eyes.

"'Bout time you showed up," she mumbled under her breath. Thunderpaw glanced at her in amusement. Sunpaw raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Sorry, just got a sense of déja-vu, s'all." she mewed, laughing quietly. Sunpaw shot her a weird look before shrugging and turning her attention to the front.

"…new warriors to name." Somberstar was saying. Thunderpaw hummed in interest. Somberstar swept his dark ocher gaze around to pin-point Sunpaw, and then moved on to her brother, Emberpaw. "Sunpaw, Emberpaw, please step forwards."

Sunpaw blinked once, trying and failing to look surprised. Everyone knew this was coming. She rose slowly and picked her way to the front beside her brother, who had eagerly scampered forward in less than a heartbeat. Thunderpaw nudged her friend as she passed. "Congrats." Sunpaw smiled, whispering her thanks.

Somberstar gazed down at the two littermates; their identical fiery pelt alit with sunlight. "Do you two promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect your Clan with your lives?"

"I do." The siblings vowed, their voices joining together. Somberstar smiled in approval.

"Then from this moment on, Emberpaw, you will be known as Embernight, in honor of your blazing loyalty and uncanny tracking skills." Embernight's eyes glinted proudly and he puffed up his chest.

"Sunpaw, you shall now go under Sunfur, symbolising your fiery pelt and sunny personality."

The Clan raised their voices to a clamor, welcoming the two as new warriors into their midst. Thunderpaw looked on, her voice mingling with her Clanmates'. She locked eyes with Sunfur and Thunderpaw smirked, mouthing _"Sunny personality?"_ Sunfur giggled, sticking her tongue out.

As the siblings made their way back into the ranks of the Clan, their Clanmates swarmed over them like a cloud of angry bees, their joined purring vibrating along the camp walls. Thunderpaw ducked and weaved through the throng to reach her best friend.

"Nice name, Sunfur! Suits your _personality_ completely!" she called. Sunfur laughed, glancing at the brown apprentice over the head of her mother, Doetail.

"Jealous?" the golden warrior called back, smiling teasingly. Thunderpaw rolled her eyes.

"Very." she mewed. A chuckle sounded off to her left and she craned her neck to look. Wasp-paw stood by her, his face wearing his usual trademark smirk.

"Don't you fret, doll-face, we'll be warriors in no time." he teased, laughing when Thunderpaw wrinkled her nose at the pet name.

"Doll-face?" she protested, looking indignant. Giggles met the end of her sentence and she turned to find Inkypaw watching the three. The night-black she-cat had just recently been apprenticed, and Thunderpaw had taken it upon herself to look after the dainty she-cat and now saw her as a sister.

"Inkypaw! Wasp-paw's being mean to me!" Thunderpaw fake-wailed, pulling a sad face and racing to the little cat, ducking behind her small form and pulling her close with a forepaw. Inkypaw giggled when Thunderpaw snuffled loudly into her ear and pushed the older apprentice away.

"Eeww…" The black apprentice reached a paw up and rubbed her ear. Thunderpaw pouted.

"You're being mean, too? Now who do I turn to for comfort?" she wailed, plunking down and burying her muzzle under her paws.

Deerpelt and Cardinalnose padded past, rolling their eyes and exchanging amused and exasperated glances. Cardinalnose stopped and prodded her son with her blood-red nose.

"Wasp-paw, what'd you do this time?" she asked half-heartedly, not really expecting an honest answer.

"Nothing at all!" Just as she thought. With a sigh and a fond smile, she reached a paw up and ruffled his fringe before walking off, conversing softly with Deerpelt.

Both Thunderpaw's and Wasp-paw's respective emotions flip-flopped, Thunderpaw grinning smugly while the brown calico yelped in protest and shook out his bangs.

Suddenly, a piercing cry cut through the air and Moontail rushed into camp, her kinked tail waving, followed by Liquidnight and Sagewhisper.

"Sun-high patrol's back!"

"Wonder what happened? They look like they've been chased here by monsters straight of the Thunderpath!"

Moontail skidded to a halt before whirling right back around, her paws shaking and claws unsheathed. Liquidnight and Sagewhisper followed her lead, baring their teeth despite their obvious terror.

Somberstar shouldered his way through the crowd of gathered cats. "Will somebody please explain what's-"

He was abruptly cut off when the dull thumping of paw-steps echoed, drawing closer. Liquidnight took a shuddering breath. "They're here!" he breathed.

His sentence was met with wordless murmuring, his Clanmates glancing around worriedly.

"What's-"

An eerie wail broke through Cardinalnose's soft inquiry and the fur on Thunderpaw's hackles lifted at the sound of that unearthly noise. Suddenly, forms hurtled through the camp entrance and threw themselves at the Clan members.

Shocked exclamations engulfed the gulley as the cats were washed into battle. Thunderpaw cried out as a heavy paw swung at her and missed her nose by a hair. The owner of the paw let the limb drop heavily and advanced upon Thunderpaw with an awkward, limping gait.

_The hell…?_

She dodged another swipe, lurching to the side. The cat lumbered past her clumsily before slowly turning to face the brown apprentice. Her brow furrowed in confusion as the weird creature lunged at her again, this time tripping over its own feet and bringing Thunderpaw down with it.

Its heavy weight pinned her down, making it almost impossible to get back up. She batted at the _thing_'s face with sharp claws, but it didn't seem to hinder it in the slightest.

The creature parted its jaws, filling her nose with the stench of decay. She flinched when strands of saliva dripped from its gaping jaws and onto her face.

Suddenly, the weight was lifted and the creature lurched to the side. Glancing up, her green eyes met with familiar emerald orbs._ Wasp-paw!_

Almost shaking with relief, she clambered to her paws, her eyes conveying her thanks. He gave a short nod and turned to face the strange cat. Almost at once, his eyes widened.

"Willowfire!" he gasped. Thunderpaw blinked, wondering why he would choose to blurt out his deceased grandmother's name in the heat of battle. Curious, and slightly wary, she turned her gaze to the creature, gasping when she got a good look at it for the first time.

Its entire body was rotting, with bits of flesh hanging off its sides and its fur missing in clumps. It eyes were cloudy and unseeing and the stench of crow-food rolled off it in waves. But, wait! Getting a closer look at its fur, she realized that the ginger and silver, now mixed with a sickly green, looked hauntingly familiar.

"Is that…?" she demanded, blinking in shock. Wasp-paw stood frozen as his seemingly _un_dead grandmother hobbled forwards. It reached out a paw to hook his nose as he stood stock-still.

Thunderpaw seized the chance and barrelled into the thing, clenching her jaws shut to avoid breathing in any unwanted aromas. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wrapped her claws around its neck and sank her claws into its throat. With a croaking moan, it shuddered and lay still.

Backing away, she glanced around. Sure enough, she began to recognize many other familiar coats that should have stayed where they were buried. A flash of crimson: Redeyes, whose body had been found mangled and torn. A blur of white-and-black: Stormwing, ambushed and killed by rogues. An awkwardly moving deformed bulk of orange: Gingersnap, whose body had been crushed under the seasonal avalanches.

Turning, Thunderpaw approached Wasp-paw cautiously. "It alright now, it's gone." she soothed. Surprise seized her throat as his weight unexpectedly crashed into her and she collided with the hard ground for the third time that day. Grunting, she stared up at him in shock.

"Wasp-paw, what in the name of StarClan-?" Paws shook her shoulders furiously.

"What'd you do that for, huh?" Wasp-paw's eyes were glazed over with anger. "You just killed my grandmother!"

Thunderpaw jumped up, hurtling Wasp-paw off her. "She tried to hurt you! She was already dead! But for some reason, the dead decided to come back and attack us! I'm sure she would never have wanted to harm us!"

Wasp-paw hissed angrily at her. "You didn't have to kill her again! Isn't dying once enough?!"

Thunderpaw stared at him, hurt constricting her throat. "I saved you!" she cried, pinning her ears to her head and trying to push down the tightening of her throat.

Wasp-paw remained unfazed. "You killed your Clanmate!" he growled, eyes dark with rage. Not believing her ears, Thunderpaw back off, shaking her head.

"But I saved _you_!" she repeated, her eyes moist. _Why are my eyes damp? I swear, if I'm about to cry, I'll kick myself!_

The white patches on his shoulders rippled. "You should have let me get hurt!"

Thunderpaw snarled, though her eyes were growing wetter by the second. "I'd never let anything, _anything,_ hurt you, Wasp-paw! You're my Clanmate, for StarClan's sake!" she added, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

But instead it made him angrier. "I'm not a little kit! I can defend myself! I don't need anyone to _take care_ of me," he spat the words out like they were poison in his mouth.

"And I most certainly don't need you!"

The silence that followed his outburst made Thunderpaw's ears ring. The sounds of the surrounding battle faded out until they were mere whispers. All she saw was Wasp-paw, his shoulders heaving in fury, his eyes shadowed and dark, locked onto hers in a fierce glare.

At that moment, she had never seen anything so terrifying, so heart-breaking, that made her want to cry. A whimper escaped her throat as sorrow pooled in her gut. She nearly let go of her invisible dam to let her tears flow freely, almost hoping that he'd take back his biting words.

Instead, she schooled her expression into one of indifference. "Fine," she ground out, breaking their eye-contact and staring off to the side. Idly, she noticed that the ground was stained with blood. Whose? She didn't care to know.

Wasp-paw opened his jaws as if he were about to say something, but he didn't. Glancing at her one last time with green eyes filled with an unreadable emotion, he turned and disappeared into the fray.

All at once, like someone had turned everything into slow-motion and now decided to turn it off, everything came roaring back at her and she squared her shoulders. Locking her sight onto a limping, oddly formed body hobbling towards a living cat, she lunged forward and hooked her claws into the thing's scruff.

An odd screech tore from its mangled throat as Thunderpaw dragged it off of a creamy pelt. A familiar, _living_, creamy pelt. She didn't recognize this one, making it easier for her to snap its neck and drop the now limp body.

Sandpelt scrambled to his paws, shaking out his fur. His dark amber eyes were shadowed. "I recognized him." he croaked, jerking his head to the still form. "It was Antscar, Somberstar's father."

He locked eyes with Thunderpaw, and she shrunk under the intense stare. "Are the…the _dead_ attacking us?" he whispered, horrified. Thunderpaw nodded grimly.

Sandpelt sank to his haunches, gazing around with haunted eyes before coming to a stop and staring at a certain spot. Thunderpaw craned her head and followed the line of his gaze to see Somberstar wrestling with a muscularly lumpy white and vomit-green coat.

"Surely Somberstar's noticed by now." Sandpelt voiced. Thunderpaw shrugged helplessly, drumming her tail against the floor anxiously.

Suddenly, as if commanded by a single, unheard voice, the dead froze in their tracks and backed off, their blank gazes staring at nothing as they whirled and streamed through the camp entrance.

Nobody made a move to go after them, and everyone stared uncomprehendingly at the decayed beings that left as suddenly as they had come.


End file.
